Many soap makers are jumping on board with the soap dough phenomena. I strive to master the craft of soap dough. This is a life-time endeavor. To begin to master something, anything, it has been said it takes a minimum 10,000 hours of apprenticeship. Just doing one’s time, having the hours under one’s belt, does not automatically make one a master. I practice my soap-craft daily and have since I began. I share this to let you know where I stand, how dedicated I am to understanding this soap-craft and to sharing my experiences.

Soap Dough Points

Touching soap dough with bare hands hours after it is poured is not safe. No matter if the soap dough seems firm. (This holds true for cold process soap as well, which is one-in-the-same. Curing is how cold process and soap dough are different.)

Un-molding hours after the soap dough is made is not going to show the best soap dough results. Waiting 3 days to work with it after pouring soap dough WILL work. And still, I leave my soap dough for a week in a bag before I use it. Patience is also a valuable tool to this, or any, craft one is striving to master.

Trace is not as important as some think. Trace is defined as leaving “traces” of soap lines, or evidence of soap, that drips off of the mixing tool (spoon or stick blender) on the top of the soap batter. EmulsionISimportant. Trace is a sign of emulsion. “An emulsion is a mixture of two or more liquids that are normally immiscible (un-mixable or un-blendable). The word “emulsion” comes from the Latin word for “to milk”, as milk is an emulsion of fat and water, along with other components.”

Seahorse Soap

Here is where the rubber meets the road – examples of Sorcery Soap embellishments. If you like what I create, and see the potential of soap dough please follow the directions and you, too, will have smooth, pliable SAFE soap dough.

Knowing the difference between “saponification” and “curing” is important. Full saponification can take 3 days, and evidence of using an orange or yellow mica. The color will not fully change from the ugly orange it originally is to the intended color for 3 days. The question is, why?

Curing is water evaporation. That’s it. Full stop. Soap dough does NOT cure until used and exposed to air, continuously. Air exposure causes water to evaporate. Soap dough does not cure in its pliable state, it is the opposite of traditional cold process soaps in this respect. Soap dough stays pliable because the crystalline structure of cold process soap is kept from locking by maintaining the water. Each time soap dough is molded, mashed, the structure is broken. Until the very last time, when the embellishment/figure is created and left to CURE with continuous air exposure. This is why soap dough is kept sealed or in an air tight container, to inhibit or retard water evaporation.

I have also discovered a different, undesirable, texture to soap dough when gelled. Gelling takes place when the soap is insulated or kept from cooling to ambient air temperatures by being in small container. Gelling is maintenance of heat generated from the saponification process, which is exothermic. If your mold is wooden, or in a container that is smaller/condensed, unlike a longer silicone mold in a wire cage (giving the over all soap more exposure to cool) the soap dough will gel.

ex·o·ther·mic

CHEMISTRY

(of a reaction or process) accompanied by the release of heat.

(of a compound) formed from its constituent elements with a net release of heat.

I have tried making small amounts of soap dough in bags and then placing them in mason jars. Guaranteed gel, which produces a sticky soap dough. A controlled, small amount of evaporation is necessary to have the perfect consistency to smooth, pliable soap dough.

I hope this helps you on your soap dough making process.

Much of this information is discussed in greater detail in the Sorcery Soap Books, all but just the Soap Dough Recipes, which are ONLY the recipes, offered at $1 each. The soap dough recipes are offered as a favor, for those experienced soap makers.

Ideally it is preferable to make the soap dough with the color mixed into the oils before lye-water is added. I use soap stable micas; some from TKB Trading, Nurture Soap Supply and a few other places.

First try making the basic colors, or primary colors – red, blue and yellow. With these prime colorsthe secondary and tertiary colors can be made. Having white soap dough will give tints of any of these colors.

Here is a video sharing when soap dough has not been made properly and what it looks like when it has been made properly.

If you didn’t know, there is a merry little band of soap makers who have joined a group I named “Sorcery Creations” on facebook.

What happens there?

Unusual and peculiar soaps, bath and body product images are posted, soaping inspiration and questions to help you get past your soaping limitations… And many, many extraordinary soap makers to offer their sage wisdom and guidance are among our members.

I understand some soap makers are busy making soap, have an over full life or don’t have the desire to be active on line. I understand and want to offer this, even if you don’t participate you will be influenced in your soap making ideas and abilities by viewing the activities and images in this group.

I see a variety of soap makers who have been influenced by the Sorcery of this soap maker, in and out of this group (I share often) – soap creations that they have had no history of or have never manifested come to life after Sorcery Soaps reached their awareness… Maybe you are one of those, maybe you need a group of soap makers to support your soaping rebelliousness, or maybe you need a surge of inspiration. All good reasons to join Sorcery Creations Facebook group. It is a group of honorable soap makers I have found to have steel integrity.

Also, if you haven’t heard, Sorcery Soapery is moving. If you’d like to help move this Soap Witch, use “MovetheSoapWitch25” at check out before August 31, 2017 to receive 25% off all Sorcery Products even ebooks, which don’t need moving.

I will be, and am, deeply grateful for your help… You will be with me in spirit during our move. Which is all I can ask for.

Thank you to each of you who have helped me so far. Truly is an amazing idea to think people of all over the world are here to help us move this Soapery.

Some how, moving brings out the most inefficient in me. My very nature abhors moving, but I’ve done it more times than anyone I know. So that, too, must by my nature. A crab changes it’s shell each time it grows out of the old one. I hope this is the case for me too.

More than anything I hope this last period of growth is over for awhile. Well, this type of growth anyway – out growing my shell. I still want to grow in awareness, compassion, understanding and most importantly, creativity.

Once this move is over, we are all settled into our new home, all Sorcery Soaps have carefully and safely nestled into their new apothecary-ish soapery, I can level-up to my new creativity. I’m looking forward to this experience, manifesting new sorcery, sharing insights and tales of creativity in the new Sorcery Book and expanding the Sorcery Soap products.

Some magic needs to expand.

If you’d like to contribute to moving this Soap Witch, I’ve offered a coupon. Use “MovetheSoapWitch25” at checkout.

Once the coupon expires, this Soapery will be paused until we are completely ready to ship your order unencumbered by the anxiety of changing shells.

I’ve been asked why I don’t use silicone molds. This question is curious to me.

I make all embeds by hand, using tools at times, but mostly molding by hand. I sometimes cannot duplicate, often times I can, but not exactly the identical as the first – often times better. This is why sculptors use molds as well. Sculptors carve the original in clay and mold, through a process, into bronze or the desired metal. Some use a lost wax casting method, where the original is lost, but a silicone mold is made before the loss in order to duplicate.

I do not.

I trust in my boundless creativity. I also know that once my fingers and mind have found the path they will, both, remember forever that path. Because I discovered it, I was not taught. It was not someone else’s path, but uniquely mine.

When one discovers a path, in the woods or in the creative ethers, it is etched onto that person. This might not be true for all, but it most certainly is for me. It has been that way in all my endeavors. How does one put that on a resume? And, it is a most valuable resource.

When I had my construction company I mentally tracked all goings on and as a way of teaching my replacement, I wrote things down, had systems in place and written handbooks. It still took months to teach someone all that I stored in my mind and being. There was a rhythm, a music in my office that showed me my way every day because the events, the actions that were necessary to keep that business moving forward changed daily, therefore I had to adjust and still not lose the melody. That was the nature of the original question presented, how do I show someone that music? How do I teach someone to feel their own music and apply it to given circumstances?

It seems I’m doing something similar with Sorcery Soap. There is a music in this creative world, one that the seasons or the weather tells me as much as the 4-6 weeks curing time tells me. Once soap is cured, that dictates the next series of events: taking of photos, labeling, adding to the website, wrapping soap, writing ad copy… Eventually shipping. This is the most simple example.

How do you know when to order more soap supplies? When I weight things out this last time it seems I have run completely out of my one ingredient I use most… Shea Butter. When I order by “feel” I have yet to run out. Curious.

Like any good musician who knows their music without seeing the page an artist who knows when to create, what to do next and how to execute that action, soap making has its own music.

If anyone ever does end up working with me, there is a time to go for a hike and a time for a run, a time to sit quietly and muse and a time for much activity. These daily events are as important as molding embeds for a soap that hasn’t fully formed in the mind.

Do you remember the last time you went to enjoy a beautifully crafted meal by an amazing chef?

Do you remember the last time you went to this same restaurant, had the consciously and precisely made plate set down in front of you?

Do you remember sitting there with the perfection of that plate sitting in front of you and not eat it?

Do you remember asking, “this meal is too beautiful to eat, could you put in a doggy bag for me? I want to keep it.”

Of course not.

You would eat it, enjoy it for hours, days or even the rest of your life. Why? Because of the experience. You would ponder it long afterward, wonder if you could dine at the that restaurant again and enjoy that chef’s creations.

Food creates memories. Why not soap? Soap is much more personal.

Why would you NOT use a beautifully constructed soap? Are you not worth it? Using this soap is what is meant for… To be enjoyed, to be used, to be experienced.

And, soap lasts so much longer than a meal.

Sorcery Soaps are not a corporate production. Hand crafted to the most minute aspect, all thought out as much as any creation can be. Each soap more perfected, each soap with just a bit more sorcery added. All this is just soap… Meant to be used, enjoyed and experienced… And possibly experience a touch of magic.

Made a few bunnies for this Sweet Pea fragranced soap. This Sweet Pea fragrance oil from Fillmore Container, although lovely, needs to be treated with care as it accelerates so fast you could have soap on a stick blender. I forgot and used my stick blender.. Yes, indeed I did and was swiftly reminded. Thank goodness I chose a solid, one color, soap base.

Each little bunny has been hand crafted by Sorcery Soap Dough. You’ll be happy to know more Sorcery Soap Dough has been made and will be available in a few days: White, Yellow, Orange and Brown; next colors, Purple, Bright Pink, and Green.

Between keeping up on soap preparation for next months big soap release, soap photography, Soap Interviews, posting, keeping up on Sorcery Creations group and a million other things. Take a peek at the newest soaps when you get a chance.

Writing the next Master Soap Dough and Molding Book is moving along fine. Some of the topics that will be covered in the next Soap Dough and Molding book are:

Soap Dough insights

Soap Dough History

Recipes

Shapes

Soap Cookies

Stencils Soap

Stamped Soap

Glittered Soap

Sample Soap

Fondant Tool Use

Tips and Tricks

If you need help with Soap Dough making and insights, see the books already available. Soap Dough Books.

Saponification and Curing

Soap dough is made from cold process soap which saponifies anywhere from 8-36 hours. After all the lye molecules have attached to the fat/oils, the soap is safe to touch. (For those who have purchased either of my two books, see “Fear and Danger: Lye Safety” section) AFTER saponification is complete, lye is no longer active. The process of soap and how ingredients make soap.

After you know the process of saponification the next step is a course of logic – curing. Curing is the evaporation of water used to activate and carry the lye (sodium hydroxide) to the fat/oils. It takes 4-6 weeks to cure soap – for all the water to be evaporated from cold process soap. Evaporation of cold process soap is equivalent to curing.

The curing process does three things:

Curing hardens the soap bar, because water softens the soap,

Curing enables the soap to be correctly weighed, with the water fully evaporated, you are left with the weight of the actual soap,

Curing shrinks and hardens the bar, so the soap can be correctly packaged. If you want to see how much your soap shrinks during curing, wrap a piece of paper around a freshly cut bar cold process soap as tight as possible and leave it for fully 8 weeks. You’ll see how much your soap shrinks, by how loose the band will be. Not accurate but this experiment will give you a visual of the curing process.

Now that you have a working definition of “curing” you can see how the next step to maintaining your Sorcery Soap Dough is to keep your soap from evaporation.

How to Store Sorcery Soap Dough

By wrapping your soap dough in plastic wrap, placing it inside a plastic airtight bag or container, your soap dough will maintain its pliability. So, keep air away from your soap dough and your soap dough will stay moldable for months. Even the best air tight containers will allow some air, and the soap will have a harder form, simply work the soap dough in your hands and your soap dough will soften. It softens from the heat of your hands along with breaking the structure of the soap.

Working this information backward, what keeps the soap pliable is water.

Recap:

Cold process soap is made with water,

Saponification takes 8-36 hours for the lye to be come inactive, touching soap after full saponification is perfectly safe,

Curing i.e. water evaporation takes approximately 6 weeks,

Maintaining water in cold process by wrapping in plastic, avoiding air exposure, keeps soap pliable and therefore “SOAP DOUGH”.